August 2017

July had its ups and downs. One of the best memories of the month was participating in a Paint Nite event with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my husband. I like the sunflower I painted last year better than my beach scene on a crate (mine is the one on the right), but I had a great time. And, I love the scene my husband created!

As for my July goals, here is how I did...

#4 A holly seam was embellished on the crazy quilt stocking I am making for my son. 

#5 A zipper pouch with a wristlet was created with my CQJP 2013 January block. This was my 4th finish with the APQ 2017 UFO Challenge. You may read more about it here. 

#8 Although I did not stitch every single day, I made a lot of progress and had a lot of fun participating with The Stitching Hour 2017  hosted by Ambitious Stitches on Instagram. You may see my posts on Instagram here.

Here is my updated list for the APQ 2017 UFO Challenge. (My original post about the challenge is here. It includes photos of all 12 items on my list.)

August Goals:

1. Complete 2 items for Etsy shop, including an under-the-sea eye glasses case.

2. Finish a gift for my friend's daughter. All of the pieces have been cut out now - it just needs to be sewn together.

3. Sew together the wall quilt with the 6 blocks from the CQI Hearts Round Robin. (This was #2 on my APQ UFO Challenge and was selected for May.)

4. Finish embellishing the stocking I am making for my eldest son. (It is pictured above. This was #10 on my APQ UFO Challenge and was selected for June.)

5. Finish the buttonhole stitches and other embroidery on block 5 of the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month hosted by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy and friends. And finish the fish border, which is block 6. 

6. Finish block 7 of the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month. It is super cute and may be seen here. 

7. For August, #5 was selected as the project to complete for the AQP UFO Challenge. So, I need to sew my May CQJP 2014 block into a purse. (You may read more about this block here.)

Top 5 Posts Viewed in July:

1. 4th Annual Piggy Bank Savings Challenge - here

2. July 2017 - here

3. June 2017 - here  (The #1 viewed post in June.)

4. May 2017 - here

5. Twilight Duel Update #20 - July 2017 - here 

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Monday Stitchery Link Party #74 and a Painting!

I am wishing those of you in the USA a wonderful Labor Day!

There is not a lot of stitching I can share this week. Normally, I would share progress on my HAED QS Red Hearts project, but I fear I have not touched it since my update on the 4th of July. (Life threw us a few curve balls this summer.) 

Last weekend I worked on a crazy quilt project I had hoped to finish in July. The seam pictured above was created using a free seam treatment pattern shared at Magpie's Mumblings. I worried metallic thread may not stand up to the potential wear on this project, so I used pearl cotton flosses. Lacking the pretty sheen of metallic thread, I added extra beads to my seam. Thank you for the gorgeous idea, MA!

It is not stitching related, but on August 29th, I had a blast! Last year, I told my mother-in-law and sister-in-law that I would love to attend a Paint Nite event. For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a Paint Nite gift certificate. Last Monday night, the three of us created a "Sunflower Swirl" painting. It was so fun! I hope to have another painting to share in the not too distant future. My husband wants to have a Paint Nite date night!

A few notes that may be of interest:

1. Marian at Seams to Be Sew is hosting an Eerie Nights Blog Hop. You may learn more about it HERE. Sign ups are open through tomorrow, September 6th. (My crafting time is limited, but there is something I've been wanting to make for a while so I think I am going to sign up.)

2. This morning Kathy Shaw, of Shawkl Designs, shared information about The 70273 Project. You may see Kathy's post here and may find more details about the project here. 

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #74 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free embroidery pattern and to discover what other bloggers have been working on this week. 

Thanks for stopping by! -Renee